The overarching theme of the 28th International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Convention in Las Vegas was clear: There is a war on workers in this country and Teamsters are fighting on the front lines.

Every speaker, including politicians on both sides of the aisle, referenced the overt, unbridled attack that corporations are waging on the American middle class.

The results have been devastating. In 2010, 21% of America’s children lived at or below the poverty line. Income inequality in the United States is at an all-time high, surpassing even levels seen during the Great Depression.

Vice President Joe Biden, who spoke on the last day of the Convention, said that recent attacks on working people by politicians in state capitals and Congress represent “the most direct assault on labor in modern American history.”

Biden challenged Teamsters to fight back. “What other institution in America has the power to take on this concentration of power and wealth?” Biden said. “It’s you.”

IBT ELECTION THIS OCTOBER!

The IBT Convention, held between June 27 to July 1, 2011, was a chance for Teamsters from across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico to come together and build Union power.

It was also a chance for delegates to help formulate Union policy and nominate candidates who will be voted on by the membership in an election this October. The newly-elected IBT leadership will then chart the course for the International Union for the next five-year term, from 2012 to 2016.

For this reason, it is critically important that members of Local 117 turn out and vote in the election so that our voices are heard!

LOCAL 117 DELEGATION COMMANDS ATTENTION & RESPECT

As the 2nd largest Teamsters Local in the country, your Local Union sent a powerful delegation to represent you at the Convention. The delegation consisted of 20 delegates and 9 alternates and included experienced staff, Executive Board members, Shop Stewards and other rank-and-file members from industries throughout your Union.

Delegates and alternates to the IBT Convention were nominated at a special Union meeting held on January 6, 2011.

Your Local Union’s delegates sat on a number of Committees at the Convention, including the Constitution Committee, the Resolutions Committee, the Sergeant at Arms Committee and Organizing Committee.

Local 117 Secretary-Treasurer Tracey A. Thompson was the co-chair of the Organizing Committee at the Convention.

“It was a great honor to serve on these committees at the Convention. Now with the Convention behind us, Teamsters and other Union members have our work cut out for ourselves. We must take direct action to organize and mobilize working families so that we can stem the tide of corporate greed and aggression that is destroying the American middle class,” said Thompson.

Your Local Union’s delegates for the 28th International Brotherhood of Teamsters Convention: